Trail to nowhere leaves Markham woman feeling led up Unionville path

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 22, 2017
By Tim Kelly

For Unionville resident Barb Orr, the road to nowhere between Briarwood and Carlton parks equals "Pathgate."

She sees a promise made way back in June 2014 that included an initial path started out of Briarwood Park, but an uncompleted path down to Carlton Park as a promise unfulfilled.

And she places the blame on both city officials and local councillor Don Hamilton.

"I'm angry," Orr said.

Orr, who lives in the neighbourhood and would like to use the path if it's ever built, has the city maps to prove that a trail from Briarwood Park to Carlton Road was indeed proposed. The map is dated June 3, 2014. And she said she was assured by city officials it would be completed in 2015 once the initial path from Briarwood Park was built in 2014.

"Three years later it's still not done," Orr said.

"When you look at the pictures, on the other side of Carlton Road there is a path that goes into Carlton Road so the city had a plan. The city talked to me about curb cuts on both side of Carlton Road, but nothing got done," said a fuming Orr.

Hamilton said he asked city staff to look into the issue after a complaint from Orr.

"After Barb raised the issue of the pathway from Hemingway into Briarwood Park I asked our staff to look at it," Hamilton said.

"They came back and said the bushes were overgrown and the existing pathway was in rough shape. They had some money so they had the guys trim back the bushes that bordered the entryway into Briarwood Park and they repaved the path," he continued.

Hamilton said the staff person who promised the pathway from Briarwood Park to Carlton Road "didn't have the authority to say that."

"The City doesn't want to pave that section for a variety of reasons. I've had other requests from dog walkers who don't like the fact that it's always damp in there, especially this year with all the rain we've been having. So there is no plan or commitment in place to pave that section. Before undertaking that we would need to consult with the neighbours that back onto that area," Hamilton replied.

That doesn't satisfy Orr, who has collected a petition calling for action on the pathway.

"I just want this done. There was a plan to put a pathway there," she insisted.